“I can’t plan that far ahead,” I said to my friend as we talked a month ago about what we’d do to celebrate my Mom’s 88th birthday in February. “I don’t know how she’s going to be in two months. Two weeks, maybe, or maybe a month; that’s all the runway I can plan for.”
Mom has dementia and it’s advancing rapidly now. If I look back at the last six months’ changes, I can’t even begin to know what the next six months will bring.
Which leaves everything uncertain.
You, too, may be experiencing your own period of deep uncertainty. Maybe it’s a challenge in your job or business, a medical diagnosis, the recent changes in the US government, or a natural disaster — or the perfect storm of several.
So how do you plan when you can’t plan?
Plan what you can, and at the horizon you can. Can’t see the year ahead? Plan the quarter. Or plan each week instead of the month.
Improve your readiness. It’s our theme for the month for a reason. Even when you don’t know what specifically to plan for, improving your readiness will help you (and your team) be prepared for whatever uncertainties will come. Focus on improving your routines, habits, and protocols. The better your workways, the more capacity and capability you will have to apply to any challenges. Increasing your readiness will also reduce the fear of uncertainty (at least some), because you will feel more adequately prepared for whatever comes.
Give yourself grace. Uncertainty will certainly mean changes to your plans. Pause and regroup when you need. Adjust your plans to match the new reality. Do what you can with the time, energy, resources, and information you have available.
Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security. ―John Allen Paulos
No matter the year, no matter the season, uncertainty is perhaps the only certainty. Here are some resources to help you navigate this uncertain season:
A prompt to pause and reflect.
What one habit, practice, or routine can you improve to help you more confidently and effectively face uncertainty?
We’d love to hear what’s coming up for you.
In times of uncertainty, it helps not only to have the best resources and support, but also the right planning tools. Our digital Momentum Planners have been downloaded more than a million times. The Momentum Planning Method, on which all our planning tools are based, has helped many hundreds of people plan their days more effectively and finish more of their best-work projects.
We offer our weekly planners free each month (here), but you can get the complete suite of digital planner pages (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) two different ways:
Included with your paid subscription to Productive Flourishing,
Available as an individual purchase from our PF shop.
Want to go all in on pen-and-paper planning? Our hardbound Momentum Planner is still on secret sale: buy-one-get-one with the code MP-TWOFER. That’s a whole year of planning for just $20 plus shipping. Head to the PF Shop to get yours.
Want to go all in on digital planning? Our Momentum app is the best of our Momentum Planning Method in a web-based tool you can use on your desktop, tablet, or phone. With additional features like a project planning area and Google calendar sync, Momentum makes it easy to do your planning at home or on the go.
Need additional assistance in helping your team thrive amid uncertainty? Engage Charlie and the PF team to support your team with workshops in these core areas:
We’ll have more information about these workshops in the coming weeks, but if you want to start the “work together” conversation now, please fill out this form:
Some of our paid subscribers have been asking us: “Where do I find…?” as they’re searching for the premium resources included with their paid subscription, like the digital Momentum Planners, the Momentum Planning E-Course, the Guided Business Review, the Annual Reflection Guide, and others.
To help make it easy, we’ve created a “Vault” page that links to all the premium resources plus our other premium content like events and replays.
Paid subscribers can access The Vault from the Productive Flourishing home page. Just look for it under the Quick Start Resources section at the top.
Free subscribers: if these resources sound like something you’re interested in, consider upgrading your subscription to get your own access to The Vault.
Catch up on our readiness-focused January replays:
Paid subscribers get access to the whole replay, notes, and extras. Free subscribers, consider upgrading your subscription to get access to the full replay and invitations to attend live next month!
And save the dates for our February calls (Zoom details coming soon):
February LSS: Wednesday, February 5, at 11:00 am PST
February MMC: Wednesday, February 19, at 11:00 am PST